1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally pertains to hand tools, and more particularly to a rotary cutting tool or bit for use with a power router or other rotary tool during the installation of drywall or sheathing.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known in the construction industry that the interior walls of most homes and many commercial buildings in the United States are constructed using drywall. It is also well known that a variety of steps in the building process are taken before the drywall is installed, or “hung” (e.g., electrical wiring and electrical outlet boxes, switch boxes, vent fans, and certain canister and other lights and devices are installed; telephone wire and telephone boxes are installed; cable wire and cable boxes are installed; speaker wire and recessed speaker boxes; vents; returns; plumbing pipes such as a drain; etc.). It is further known that these electrical, telephone, cable, etc. boxes and other devices extend past the “studs” (typically wood boards) to which they are attached by a distance generally equal to the thickness of the drywall that is to be attached to the studs. As such, when the drywall is installed, it is necessary to cut a hole or opening, generally rectangular or circular in shape, through which the outlet/switch boxes etc. extend, such that the outer edges of the boxes or devices are generally flush with the exterior surface of the drywall once the drywall is secured to the studs. The present invention relates to the process of cutting the openings or holes for the boxes or other devices.
Heretofore, these openings have been cut out or created in a variety of ways. One way to cut them out is “by hand” using a drywall knife or saw. Another way to cut them out is by using a power rotary tool such as a router and router bit. Examples of ways in which openings have been cut out are disclosed in various patents, such as, U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,302 (Payne), U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,396 (Smolik), U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,490 (Kopras), U.S. Pat. No. 6,452,097 (DeWall), U.S. Pat. No. 6,758,639 (Risen, Jr.) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,867,369 (Wiggens), for example. As will become apparent from the following description and discussion, the present invention is directed to an improved rotary tool and related method of cutting out these openings that overcomes the deficiencies in the previous methods and tools. More specifically, the present invention does a much better job of eliminating inaccuracies in precutting these openings before and during the installation of the drywall, such as the excessively oversized cutout openings that are created using currently available rotary bits. The present invention also reduces installation time.